How to practice 'safe computing'

The number and sophistication of phishing and spoofing scams sent out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online banking is widely considered to be as safe or safer than in-branch or ATM banking, as a general rule you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet. Below is a list of recommendations you can use to avoid becoming a victim of these scams:

Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information

Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately

They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.

Phisher emails typically are not as personalized and may contain spelling errors while valid messages from your bank or e-commerce company generally are accurate in the way they spell your name and your financial institution's name.

Don't use the links in an email to get to any Web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic. Instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser

Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information

Only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone

Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser

A secure Web server designation can be found by checking the beginning of the Web address in your browser's address bar - it should be "https://" rather than just "http://"

Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known phishing fraud websites

EarthLink ScamBlocker is just one of many free browser toolbars that alerts you before you visit a page that's on the service provider's list of known fraudulent phisher websites.